Country hike

Funny sign we came across on our walk.

Our country hike today was a good one. The weather was absolutely perfect. cool, crisp and sunny. Could not have ordered it any better. The 1 big hill the leader told us about was really 1 massive hill and 2 really big hills. We were all huffing and puffing. There were 54 of us on the walk so it was like a gigantic, chatty catapillar walking on the trail. Our lunch was at a cool place. Mom, it was in Godalming where we went shopping. The pub was an old church that had great stained windows, named the Bel and the Dragon. The leaves are starting to turn so I just had to get a shot of the outside of the pub. Pretty, don't you think?

New autumn hobbies

I get a kick out of our local American Women's group. I promise it is like having a cruise activities director for your social calendar. Last fall I signed up to learn how to ride horses (English style). fun, but not really my cup of tea. I'm still a little leary of horses. Anyway, this fall I signed up for the country hikes and golf lessons and quiz night.
We had our first hike last week. Started with a "undulating 6 mile hike" through the Surrey hills. So pretty and it was a beautiful day. I didnt really know what "undulating" meant, but now I do. Lots of little hills. This week, it's a 6.5 mile hike and has one really big hill. Hope I make it to the top! we finish with a lunch at a local pub located at the end of whatever path we're walking. Fun to get to know more ladies and discover local pubs.
I also had my first golf lesson (well, I took lessons when I was 9, but that was 10 or 11 years ago so who's counting?) I must say, I did better than I thought I would. Wont be going on tour anytime soon, but might be able to play a round before too long. The teacher asked me if I had any golf experience. I had to tell him "no playing experience, but LOTS of exposure!!!" Maybe I've learned through osmosis. I wish. Hitting over 150 yds will be my goal next week.

Just trying to fit in those English experiences in our last year.

Fun with Mom and Dad

Heading to Paris

Eating at a sidewalk cafe in France. The waitress did not speak English, so we were very fortunate to be able to order something we wanted. Pointing to the menu worked very well.

Last week my parents paid us a visit and I unintentionally just ran them into the ground. I know they were glad to get back home so they could get off the merry go round I put them on! Knowing it might be their last visit to the UK, I wanted to make sure Dad had the opportunity to play at St. Andrews, check, got that all sorted except the only problem was that I sent them to Scotland the day after they arrived here, so they were still dazed. If you know my mom, you'll understand that the 3 hour suggested time to arrive before a flight sounds just right, well--- we arrived at the train station with literally 3 minutes to spare so I had to run my 70+ year old parents down the platform and when the conductor blew the whistle, I just shoved them onto the train. They had to walk about 1,000 cars down toward their reserved seats carrying their luggage in the aisles and jostling between people/seats/etc. Dad was having to carry his golf clubs in front of his body instead of dragging them behind and I think his forearms got the workout of a lifetime. I think it was worth it though. He got to play the St Andrews course and got a tee time without any problems. well done.

Their train ride back was FULL of confusion, closed tube lines, helpful and not-so-helpful people. You'll have to ask my dad for the whole story. The line "what time is it?" will never have the same meaning again. Ha.

Then on their arrival back into London, we got all kinds of stories about hurricane Ike and the damage it was going to do to Texas. Not a comforting thing to hear when you are thousands of miles away. In addition, the Eurochunnel (which we were scheduled to take on Sunday) had a fire on Thursday and they had to close 1 tunnel indefinitely, which affected our Eurostar train. It just added to all the confusion and chaos of our travel plans.

enjoying a crepe with nutella in the Latin Quarter

at The Louvre

REGARDLESS, we made it to Paris and had a lovely time hitting all the high spots: Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, Champ Elysees. Doing all that alone wore them out even more.

The one downer was when Dad had to fight off a pick pocket thief at the Eiffel Tower!! It was a classic case, but I am so glad Dad realized what was happening and shoved the guy away before he got the wallet out of his pocket. That was about 1 second away from a disaster. We tried to put that behind us and the following morning we traveled to the Normandy beach area in France for a D-day invasion tour.

Omaha beach. This photo does not do justice to how wide the beach is. It's huge.

So moving. So impressive to see. The soldiers really had a huge obstacle to overcome just getting up to the beach. To see the wide expanse of Omaha Beach just makes you realize the sacrifice those boys and men made. My deepest respect to them. We visited the German cemetery, Pont de Hoc, Omaha Beach/museum and the American cemetery. It just made me proud to see that the American cemetery is beautiful, peaceful and kept in tip top shape overlooking Omaha beach.

American military cemetery with Omaha beach in the background

Pont de Hoc. The uneven ground is due to the heavy bombing that took place. Ground has been left untouched to give a glimpse as to what it looked like on Dday.

The little town of Bayeux we stayed in was lovely. A very nice chateau as our hotel and a cute little high street area to browse. Mom and I enjoyed Onion Soup and Dad took a page out of B's book and had pasta bolognase at several meals. Dad even joined us for a tour and movie about the famous 1,000year old tapestry of Bayeux. not something he would normally tour :-) but I found it very interesting.

Our hotel: Hotel Tardif

They had 1 last day in England and then it was back to Texas. I was sad to see them go, but happy that they came to visit us. We are enjoying all our goodies they brought from home.

funny commercial

You know how American companies are so worried about image and feelings associated with their products and all that other marketing brand mumbo jumbo? Well have a look at this funny British commercial. Makes me laugh every time it comes on the TV - not just for the precious little kids, but also for the name brand. That would never fly in the USA, especially for babies. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIlJw5h_eNc

Note: this is a real company, a real product and a real commercial.

Ardingly Antique Faire

Made it to Ardingly yesterday for a little antique shopping. I've mentioned before that it is a huge fair that happens a few times a year. Unfortunately it was really raining when we arrived, so we were relegated to the indoor places for a while. The outdoor vendors are our favorites, so we eventually just went shopping in the rain. Those poor vendors, they weren't getting many customers, but we helped them out a bit. It was a fun outing with the girls. Wish you were here!

Pad thai

Here in the land of pitiful Tex Mex food, we have had to replace our desire for spicy (read that as food with flavoring) food with Thai food. I was wanting some really good Pad Thai last night, but we didnt have time to go out to eat since it was a school night and I didnt have time to go get Take Away, so I cheated and bought ready made Pad Thai at Waitrose (my grocery store). YUK!!! how can they get is so wrong. Stay away, do not buy, it was not very good.
So disappointing to not have any way to get TexMex and the next best thing is bad too.
You Texans enjoy your chips and salsa tonight!

games kids play

I think we've achieved our goal of traveling with the kids. B and her new friend were playing after school this week. I asked what game they had decided to play and her answer was "airport people". I asked what that game was like and she described that " you have a passport and then you wait in a long line and the airport person stamps it and says you can go in." So, other kids are wanting to be Doctors, Teachers, Firemen and my child wants to be an Immigration officer. hmm.
This is so amusing to me because 2 years ago B didnt even know what a passport was and now it's her foder for games. What's next? boring castle guide?